Squad member Rashida Tlaib will represent progressives at the State of the Union on Tuesday as she delivers the response to President Biden’s address.
Speaking on behalf of the left-wing group Working Families Party, the Michigan Democrat is expected to go after moderates in her own party who have held up Biden’s Build Back Better agenda, according to Politico.
The State of the Union is set for Tuesday, March 1. All members of Congress have been invited to attend, though without guests due to Covid-19. Tlaib follows Rep. Jamal Bowman, D-N.Y., who gave a speech following Biden’s remarks last year.
Tlaib’s address is expected to put on full display the deep divisions within the Democratic Party heading into the midterms, where progressives feel passing a robust agenda would satisfy voters and moderates face growing concerns from constituents about inflation and government spending.
While many Democrats are advocating for a united front against Republicans heading into election season, progressives believe this year’s primaries could usher in an even more liberal majority in Congress.
Speaking on behalf of the left-wing group Working Families Party, the Michigan Democrat Rep. Tlaib is expected to go after moderates in her own party who have held up Biden’s Build Back Better agenda
Biden’s address will come as he finds himself tied up in more foreign policy turmoil, as Russian President Vladimir Putin has begun to invade Ukraine, with little care for U.S. sanction threats
The same day as the State of the Union Squad-backed progressive Jessica Cisneros will face off in a primary against incumbent moderate Democrat Rep. Henry Cuellar in Texas.
Tlaib will praise Biden’s social and climate spending plan. She’ll make the case that progressives did their part in pushing for the stimulus spending while moderate Democrats sided with Republicans to stand in the way.
Tlaib is reportedly even expected to criticize some Democrats by name.
The Build Back Better bill was tabled after Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said he couldn’t agree to it. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., also had concerns about the bill and had never fully agreed to vote for it.
Another target could be Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., who led a group of moderates in threatening to kill the budget unless the bipartisan infrastructure bill passed first.
Tlaib and a handful of other progressives voted against the infrastructure bill because they wanted it to be passed in tandem with Build Back Better.
‘No one fought harder for Build Back Better and a pro-democracy agenda than progressives,’ Tlaib told Politico in a statement. ‘The work is unfinished and we’re not giving up on what our communities deserve. We need to get as much done for the people as we can this year, and elect a majority that can deliver for working families in 2023.’
The congresswoman will also call on Biden to use his executive authority to cancel student debt and take other poverty reduction measures.
Republicans will bring out Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds to deliver a rebuttal to Biden’s remarks, as GOP Leaders Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy praised the governor for keeping ‘woke propaganda’ out of classrooms and ‘choosing freedom over lockdowns’ during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Republican leaders’ choice of a governor, while not unprecedented, comes after GOP state officials spent the better part of Biden’s White House term so far as a thorn in his side.
GOP-led states like Iowa have resisted imposing a majority of public health measures adopted by blue states like New York and California during the height of the pandemic.
Biden’s address will come as he finds himself tied up in more foreign policy turmoil, as Russian President Vladimir Putin has begun to invade Ukraine, with little care for U.S. sanction threats. Meanwhile, gas prices continue to rise and inflation – at its highest in 40 years – has surged to 7.5% year over year.
